Five Nights at Freddy's (Film)

Back in 2014, the original Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) caught the internet by storm and, within a year, became a series that exploded in popularity as fans obsessively dissected the ever-expanding lore. In April 2015, this popularity led to the announcement of a film adaptation from Warner Bros. While the franchise continued its reign as a cultural juggernaut, however, the film itself had unfortunately entered a development hell that saw a change in studios, from Warner Bros. to Blumhouse Productions, multiple director changes, from Gil Kenan to Chris Columbus to Emma Tammi, and several scrapped scripts (some fans have suspected that Warner Bros. retooled one of these scripts into The Banana Splits Movie, which, if true, wouldn’t surprise us). Only in 2023 did the film finally enter production, as series creator Scott Cawthon, who had a very hands-on role from the beginning, had finally approved a script he loved.

As a fan of the series (even if I had only watched Markiplier play the games until I played Security Breach and its DLC for myself), I had experienced the emotional highs and lows from following the production for years, ending with excitement as news from the final production slowly trickled in. With final details of the story mostly shrouded in mystery until the official trailers rolled in, I had no idea what to expect, but still remained optimistic and got tickets for a screening on opening day, where I watched with someone who didn’t know anything about the games or expanded universe. As a fan, I can happily say that while the final film likely won’t go down as a classic of the genre, it’s a very enjoyable love letter to the series and its fandom that even newcomers (who the marketing doesn’t do much to entice) can still get into.

Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) loses his job as a mall security guard after assaulting a father whom he mistook for a kidnapper. He’s sent to Steve Raglan (Matthew Lillard), a career counselor who offers him a job as a night guard at the run-down Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, featuring terrible pay and even worse hours. Mike initially backs out of the offer, but changes his mind after social services threaten to pass custody of his younger sister Abby (Piper Rubio) over to their estranged aunt Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson), who only wants the monthly paycheck she’d receive from the state. Not long into the job, however, Mike experiences phenomena that lead him to believe that the pizzeria is the key to solving his brother Garrett’s (Lucas Grant) kidnapping from his childhood. He also starts receiving regular visits from a police officer named Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), who he suspects knows more than she’s letting on.

Although Five Nights at Freddy’s is primarily based on, and greatly expands upon, the original FNAF, we noticed that it also incorporates elements from FNAF 2, FNAF 3, FNAF 4, Security Breach and the novel The Silver Eyes, which takes place in its own continuity. Explaining exactly how would spoil many of the film’s surprises, but this includes the presence of certain characters or objects from other games, as well as an entire recontextualized scene lifted directly from The Silver Eyes. Of the characters presented in this new continuity, Mike Schmidt’s role is expanded on the most, as where he was voiceless and featureless in the original game so that players could easily insert themselves in his place, he now has an entire family and backstory that gives him a personal connection to the pizzeria’s own dark history, even if indirectly. This greatly expanded role works well for the film medium, as it makes telling a new story much easier and allows for further exploration of topics and events players are familiar with while putting a new spin on them. Vanessa counts as one such new spin, as she goes from a (mostly absent) antagonist in Security Breach to an ally for Mike in a way that vaguely reminded me of Cybil Bennett from Silent Hill (though that is not to say Vanessa is as good a character as Cybil Bennett).

Abby's (Piper Rubio, left) encounter with Foxy (right)
is very reminiscent of The Silver Eyes.

As for the film on its own merits, I honestly feel a little split despite what I said in the second paragraph. Personally, I thought the film had solid writing, with multiple subplots that went together fairly well and various elements that made enough sense to stay engaging. Certain twists worked surprisingly well in the vacuum of the film’s story, including the identity of the killer and the relationship between the humans and animatronics. Admittedly, certain plot points also reminded us of Willy’s Wonderland, but executed differently (though I won’t say which ones to avoid spoiling the film). Since we saw the film with someone who didn’t know anything about the games, we’re aware that newcomers can still potentially enjoy it, even if not everything is fully understood.

The acting is a little mixed, since some of the dialogue doesn’t quite land, but Matthew Lillard really showed off his acting ability in certain scenes, even if he didn’t have much screentime. This may be because he already had a background in horror, as he had notably starred in the original Scream film, which Five Nights at Freddy’s subtly references (younger viewers may recognize Lillard as Shaggy from Scooby-Doo in both live-action and voice acting).

Matthew Lillard does a good job with his limited screentime.

What I really loved, however, were the immaculate sets and practical effects. Both the pizzeria itself and the animatronics within felt ripped straight out of the games themselves and plopped into the real world, with a loving attention to detail from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Clever camera work even led to recreating certain shots from the games exactly, at which I couldn’t help smiling. In general, the lack of (obvious) CG helped with making the world more believable and showcased the power of practical effects in horror films, which I always appreciate.

The sets and animatronics are immaculate;
L-R: Bonnie (Performed by Jade Kindar-Martin),
Freddy Fazbear (Performed by Kevin Foster),
Chica (Performed by Jessica Weiss)

With all that said, however, I can still understand why someone wouldn’t like the film as much. While I didn’t find the plot too hard to follow by any means, some details either go unexplained or potentially come off rather silly when you stop to think about it, plus the villain isn’t present for very long. Although I liked the idea behind Vanessa actually having more of a role in a FNAF story, she’s still a little undercooked here (which I suppose it at least better than not cooked at all). The biggest criticism, however, would be that while the film does get pretty atmospheric, it just isn’t all that scary, likely as a result of the PG-13 rating holding it back from truly leaning into the more adult darkness of the first four games. While a PG-13 rating does make it more accessible for the younger audience the series has developed over time, it does mean that the only time the film had an effect on me was the first time Balloon Boy (or rather a figurine of him) suddenly appeared onscreen. Otherwise, the jumpscares are largely telegraphed and certain plot points may feel predictable for seasoned viewers (or even those who followed the casting announcements).

The hardest the film goes is dipping its toe into Saw territory;
Pictured: Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson)

Although it’s a small thing, I’ll also admit that I was disappointed that, in spite of its prominence in the trailers and the original game, "Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre" (aka the “Toreador March”) isn’t used in the final film in any capacity.

Now, I can’t go this far into a review of the film without bringing up how much the filmmakers clearly loved the fandom and how they referenced it whenever they could, which may quickly put a smile on the faces of longtime fans. Although Markiplier, a big-name Let’s Player within the community and the self-proclaimed “King of Five Nights at Freddy’s”, couldn’t make a planned cameo appearance due to scheduling conflicts for his Iron Lung film adaptation, other big names in the community do have cameos. These include MatPat, best known for the numerous videos he’s made about FNAF on his channel The Game Theorists; and CoryxKenshin, another big-name Let’s Player within the community who helped increase FNAF’s profile in its early days. There are also a few references to the “Sparky the Dog” hoax and the “Dream Theory”, among others that I may not have picked up on. As an added bonus, The Living Tombstone’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s”, one of the earliest and most well-known fan songs, plays during the credits.

One other surprise came during the lead-up to the film’s release, in which Scott Cawthon actually came out of retirement from game development to release a new game, FNAF: The Movie: The Game. While this claimed to be a video game adaptation of the film filled with spoilers, it was actually a new troll game, Freddy in Space 3: Chica in Space, which played similarly to the previous two installments. Completing all five levels would give players an alphanumeric string that would grant access to an official unlisted YouTube video that creatively promoted the film through nine minutes of security footage filled with hidden surprises. Having played the game myself, I’ll just mention that it’s decent and you feel great for finishing it, but it’s rough and has a little reliance on RNG.

If you want even more out of the film hype, give it a whirl.

Of course, this review wouldn’t be complete without at least going into our specific theatrical experience. The copy we watched had some playback issues, as the file kept noticeably (and oddly fittingly) stuttering, especially towards the end. Thankfully this didn’t happen at crucial moments, but it happened enough that I want to watch it a second time later just to see it without those issues in place. A second viewing would also help to determine if the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” song was intentionally kind of quiet or if that was also an effect of the affected copy.

Then there’s the audience, which included plenty of relatively younger (predominantly female) fans who were clearly way more into FNAF than even us (who had watched Markiplier play every game, combed through all the lore, read the original novel trilogy and only actually played Security Breach). The fans closest to us talked in whispers throughout the film, squeed at certain references, enough to obscure some dialogue, and even sang along with “Five Nights at Freddy’s”. This behavior did give me flashbacks to the rowdy Brony crowds I had to sit through when I watched the Equestria Girls films in the theater (back during my Brony phase), though thankfully these FNAF fans at least had a better sense of theater etiquette, as they tried harder not to disturb the people around them and didn’t treat the venue like their living room.

If you’re already a fan of FNAF, there’s really no reason not to watch Five Nights at Freddy’s, as you’re the intended audience and the demographic that will likely get the most enjoyment out of it. There may be better video game and horror films out there, but this one is easily enjoyable enough to warrant at least one viewing. Although it’s possible for someone unfamiliar with FNAF to enjoy the film, at least based on our experience, it may help to watch it with someone who is.